Lord of the Mysteries

Klein had just put on his double-breasted frock coat, picked up his half top hat, and was walking toward the door when he heard a series of illusory prayers.

Who is it? He frowned slightly and listened, but he could only confirm that the supplicant was a woman and that her voice was staccato, as though she were in great pain.

Since he had nothing particularly urgent to tend to, the newly-advanced Magician, Klein, casually tossed his half top hat onto the coat rack accurately, and he returned to his bedroom. After taking four steps counterclockwise, he entered the majestic palace.

This time, he didn’t see any illusory star expanding or contracting with a deep red glow. Instead, at the end of the ancient, mottled bronze table, by the side of The Fool’s seat was a clear radiance rippling out.

It’s a prayer from a non-Tarot Club member… Is it Xio or that lady with curly brown hair? Klein speculated as he took his seat.

Since he had already emptied his anonymous account, he didn’t suspect that someone was trying to steal his wealth.

Leaning back, Klein pointed with his left hand, spreading out his spirituality to touch the rippling light.

The scene around him suddenly changed. He saw the overturned coffee table, the slanted sofa, books and papers strewn all over the floor, and a woman with brown hair struggling in pain.

At the same time, Klein heard her prayers.

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era…

“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog…

“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck…

“Save me, save me…”

Save me? From the looks of it, she seems to be losing control. Her hair is growing longer at a discernible speed, and her skin is covered with a layer of sinister white light. How could I possibly save her… Klein observed carefully for a few seconds, then mumbled to himself, feeling stumped.

It was at this moment that he detected in the woman’s anguished pleas a faint, illusory, indistinct raving.

Yes, a raving!

These ravings were similar to the ones he experienced before rising above the gray fog, but it had no madness or evil to it at all. Furthermore, it didn’t contain any obvious malice.

It appears that this lady’s state of nearly losing control is a result of hearing the ravings… If she stops hearing it, could she be able to calm down and turn for the better? In thought, Klein reached his hand out to the rippling circle of light.

Following that, he allowed his spirituality to gush out of his body, establishing a firm and mysterious connection

After advancing to Magician, his spirituality had become a lot more abundant, and the burden in this aspect had decreased accordingly.

…

Fors felt her head muddling as she felt her thoughts were like boiling water. They were constantly bubbling in a bid to break free of the restraints of her head.

“Am I dying… I don’t want to, I don’t want to become a monster…” Just as she was woefully thinking this in her mind, the pain flooded over her like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, she was wide awake. The pain, the irritation, the madness, and the despair, which she felt so deeply in her bones, seemed to no longer exist, as though it was only an illusion.

I managed to endure through it so quickly today? Isn’t it longer during a Blood Moon? Confused, Fors opened her eyes which she had unconsciously closed. She found an endless grayish-white fog beneath her, and in front of her was an ancient, mottled bronze table.

Where is this place? Surprised, she looked around and saw numerous towering stone pillars, as well as a towering palace that was propped up by those stone pillars.

Then, at the very end of the long bronze table, she saw a mysterious figure shrouded in thick gray fog who seemed to be overlooking everything from above.

What is this place? Who is he? Fors turned wary and questioned inwardly.

Then, she remembered what she had just done!

Under her extreme pain, she had chanted the mysterious incantation which Xio had found in the “History of the Loen Kingdom’s Aristocracy,” an incantation that was suspected to be directed at some evil god!

No, not just evil spirits! He was actually able to temporarily help me get rid of the harmful effects of those terrifying ravings… He even pulled me into this strange world… This… While Fors suppressed the fear in her heart, she half stood up and bowed.

“May I know who you are…”

At that moment, she suddenly recalled the contents of the incantation as she blurted out, “You are The Fool! Uh, Mr. Fool.

“You are His Excellency, The Fool?”

Klein smiled, nodded slightly and said, “Just call me Mr. Fool.”

As he spoke, he noticed on the back of the chair in which Fors was sitting on, the symbols and mysterious patterns formed by the shining stars were rapidly changing.

In just one or two seconds, the interior of the room was covered with layers upon layers of doors. Numerous illusory doors of the same kind were formed there!

Door? As soon as Klein saw the symbol, he immediately associated it with the mention of Mr. Door in Roselle’s diary.

During a full moon, the other party would come close to the real world and let out cries for help!

Could the ravings have something to do with Mr. Door? Hmm… It’s the night of the Blood Moon tonight, an enhanced version of the full moon… This lady corresponds to a door, and the symbol on the back of Miss Xio’s seat is similar to the Sword of Judgment… Klein nodded indiscernibly.

Through this, he confirmed that once a stable connection was established and that if the other party was a Beyonder, the symbol behind the seat would change according to the other party’s actual circumstances. They didn’t have to necessarily join the Tarot Club and come to the mysterious space above the gray fog at fixed intervals.

At that moment, waves of shock rose up in Fors’s heart.

The Fool… It’s indeed The Fool… That honorable name does point towards a powerful existence!

What does he want? Will he want to make a transaction with my soul?

Heh, at least — it’s at least better than losing control from those ravings… I guess I managed to claw my life back. Whatever happens in the future would just be a bonus…

While she was still lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard Mr. Fool ask with a smile, “You hear ravings from nowhere every full moon?”

How does he know? Fors looked over in surprise and replied in a daze, “Yes.”

Before she finished her sentence, she suddenly thought of a possibility and asked, “D-do you know the origin of those ravings? Do you know who is trying to harm me? Do you know how to solve this problem once and for all?”

He’s a miserable wretch who is lost in the darkness and trapped in a storm… Klein had intended to reply with the words that would shape his image, but when he thought about it, he couldn’t be sure that the woman in front of him had indeed heard the words coming from Mr. Door.

In order to not make any mistakes and to not embarrass himself in the future, he skipped over the question and said with a vague smile, “He might not necessarily want to hurt you. Perhaps, he is just asking for your help.”

Therefore, the ravings weren’t malicious, not crazy or evil.

“Asking for my help? But those ravings push me closer and closer to losing control. If you hadn’t helped me, I might’ve become a monster by now,” Fors returned incredulously.

Klein grinned and said, “That’s because you’re too weak.”

“I’m too weak?” Fors was stunned and at a loss.

Klein briefly explained, “The difference in your life’s natural order and his is too great. Perhaps, just by breathing normally, the storm brought about by him can rip you to pieces. Perhaps, just a glance from him will cause you to die on the spot.

“Of course, if he purposely controls his own strength, it’s not that he can’t communicate normally with you. However, his voice might need to pass through layers of obstructions in order to reach your ears. Deliberate control typically implies a failure to call for help. Heh heh, that’s if we assume that he’s calling for help.”

The difference in our life’s natural order is too great… I would die from just one glance from him… Fors was stunned from what she heard. After quite some time, she forced a smile and said, “This reminds me of a saying.

“You may not look directly at God…”

Klein smiled at her without giving a positive answer.

Could it be that those terrifying ravings really come from an existence who’s nearly a god? Mr. Fool can help me eliminate that person’s influence, and all this time, he’s been talking about it in a rather bland tone… Does this mean that he and that existence’s life’s natural order are at the same level? The more she thought about it, the more shocked she became. Even her body couldn’t stop trembling.

Klein waited a few seconds, then asked, “How long does it last every full moon?”

“Three to five minutes. If it’s the night of the Blood Moon, it will exceed seven minutes,” Fors gathered her thoughts and answered honestly.

The more Klein listened, the more he felt that the ravings’ owner belonged to Mr. Door.

He temporarily put the matter down and smiled.

“You can return in a few minutes.

“There is only one way to solve your problem, and that is to raise your life’s natural order.”

Fors hesitated for a moment before saying, “Whenever I encounter the full moon, can I recite your name?

“I-I will be your devout believer!”

“No, there’s no need.” Klein smiled and shook his head. “But I don’t mind helping you along the way.”

“Thank you so much!” Although she suspected that she was dealing with an evil god, she no longer wanted to experience the same painful “nightmare” as before.

After confirming this matter, she relaxed a lot. Noticing that there were still many seats around the long bronze table, she asked probingly, “Mr. Fool, it seems there are others who come here frequently?”

No, they might not necessarily be human… Fors added silently.

Klein smiled and said with a casual attitude, “They’re a few people who are similar to you. I pulled them here for various reasons.

“They hope that I can hold a gathering at regular intervals to facilitate the trade of formulas, ingredients, information, and missions.

“I agreed to it.”

Fors was enticed by what she heard. Thinking that she was already part of this, she boldly asked, “Mr. Fool, can I join this gathering?”

“Sure. Three in the afternoon on Mondays. Remove all disturbances.” Klein smiled and pointed at the cards that suddenly appeared on the surface of the long bronze table. “They’ve decided to use the names of the tarot cards as their code names. You can pick one of these, but these already belong to someone and you cannot choose from…”

Fors nodded her head, shuffling the cards and cutting them with great interest while mumbling, “Let fate arrange my title…”

Soon, she pulled out a card and looked at it: “The Magician!”